Bridge of Lights
by moderntimes
Summary: This is a story of a fifteen-year-old girl who is blessed with an attractive appearance, but at the same time, cursed by it. Life had always been cruel and unfair to her, so she had no expectations of having an enjoyable high school life. But then, he came. And everything changed.
1. Chapter 1

Amami Michiko.

A girl blessed with looks more than most.

She became popular in just her first day of high school. You'd expect her to have many friends and be adored by everyone around her.

It was the opposite.

Amami Michiko, also known as _Yuki Onna_ , had a bad reputation with rumours of her middle school times spread by those who went to the same junior high as her.

 **Arrogant, selfish, mean,** she was basically a horrible person.

Whether they were true or not, people didn't care and took them as the truth. Michiko never tried to clarify or explained herself, strengthening the rumours as a result.

That was until,

The school bell rang loudly, signalling the start of lunchtime. Michiko rose from her seat with a lunch box in her hands, heading to the place she usually ate lunch at.

"Hey, move out!" Michiko turned at the loud voice, only to be greeted by a person running pass her at a quick pace. Before she could take another step, a boy came towards her way with all his might and collided with her.

The brunette winced as she could feel the pain attacking her body. She groaned and felt a heavy weight on her. The culprit lifted himself up and looked at her. They stayed silent for a while. In the boy's mind, he thought of how pretty the girl under him was, her marine blue orbs that glowed in contrast to her dark chocolate hair. This is truly a scene from a shoujo manga, now if she were to blush-

"What are you waiting for? Please get off of me." The girl said with a straight face.

"Oh yeah, sorry." He quickly moved himself from her.

Michiko got up and turned to her lunch that was now scattered on the ground.

He got a good look at her and realised, _*Isn't she..*_

"I'm really sorry, I'll clean that up and buy you lunch." The black haired male said with a grin.

She sighed and met eyes with him, "No need, just don't go running around like that again. It's disturbing." She said.

"Huh?" Kuro looked at her, genuinely confused.

Without a second look, Michiko left him. He scratched the back of his head and sighed.

"Oi Kuro! Give me back my- what happened here?" The boy whose eyes resembled an owl, asked. Kuro clicked his tongue and glared at his friend,

"You, because you were chasing me, I bumped into someone."

"Huh? That's your own fault, you took my wiener!"

Michiko returned with a broom and a dustpan, she paid no care to the two boys in front of her and started cleaning the mess. The two were immediately struck by guilt and bent down to help.

The three silently cleaned the mess. When they were done, Kuro apologised once again and even made his friend apologise with him, but Michiko said nothing and only bowed before leaving.

"Eh..what's with her.." Bokuto watched the walking figure from afar.

"I know! She must be pissed because she can't eat." He guessed.

"You don't know her?"

"Huh? Was I supposed to?" Bokuto gave his friend a look.

"She's popular you know."

Bokuto's eyes widened, "Ah! Is she the one everyone talks about? What was it again? _Hone Onna_?"

Kuro smacked his friend's head, " _Yuki Onna_. She's not going around deceiving men."

"Huh? Yuki Onna? She's not going around killing people either, that's even worse!"

"They're probably calling her that because of her skin colour, don't you think?" Kuro sweat-dropped.

"Ah- she was really pale." Bokuto acknowledged.

* * *

Michiko returned to the classroom from the restroom and found a plastic bag on her table. She opened it and saw a sandwich and a small carton of strawberry milk with a note inside as well,

 _ **To make up for your lunch yesterday.**_

 _ **-Kuro**_

Her eyes widened slightly, it was the first time in a long time, someone actually treated her nicely. She unwrapped the sandwich and started eating it quietly. Little did she know, the giver was watching secretly from the door frame and grinned in content.

For some reason, ever since that day Kuro bumped to pretty-faced brunette, he kept thinking of her. Not in a strange, nor indecent kind of way. Nor was it because he had grown to like her. Simply because he was intrigued.

Kuro had heard a lot about the rumours about her from his classmates, i.e. the girl who sat behind him that always gossiped with her friends. But he was never one to believe in baseless information. Though he didn't know her, he could at least tell that she isn't a bad person.

One thing he did agree on was her nickname,

 _Yuki Onna._

It suited her.

Not because she was dangerous, not because she was mean and cold like the rumours.

 _But because she was beautiful._

After school, Kuro made his way to the shoe lockers and opened it, a small piece of paper was placed inside his black footwear.

 _ **Thanks.**_

Kuro stared at the neat handwriting and let out a sigh.

* * *

"Hey."

Michiko sighed and turned to the male walking beside her, "Are you following me now?"

"Not at all, I live in this neighbourhood too." He flashed her a grin.

She eyed him with suspicion but didn't question him any further.

"I got your note the other day." He spoke again.

Michiko stiffened and looked away in embarrassment, "It's nothing."

His eyes widened slightly, not expecting that would be her response, "Do you usually eat lunch alone?"

She turned to him, "What's in it to you?"

"Now now, don't be like that." He chuckled, "I'm Kuro by the way, but you probably know already. Why don't you eat with me and my friends tomorrow?"

"What?" She looked at him with a bewildered expression.

"It's just the guy who helped clean the mess we made and two others." He informed.

"No, what's wrong with you? We don't even know each other, why are you inviting me?"

"Huh? There's no reason. Just that, isn't it better to eat with people?"

"I'm fine eating alone."

Kuro grinned, "I'm not accepting a no as an answer, I'll come pick you up at lunch."

"What? Don't-"

"See ya!" Kuro said before taking a turn and walked quickly, leaving her. Michiko sighed and shook her head,

 _*_ _What's wrong with him..*_

* * *

The brunette stared at him with a straight face, "Let's go," He grinned.

"No." She walked past him.

"Come on, it's not somewhere open where everyone can see you. It's in a club room."

"Club room?" She raised a brow.

"Yeah, we're the Human Research Club. But we don't actually do anything but hang out." He smirked.

She looked at him, unconvinced, "I'm surprised the school allowed it."

"Well, we don't need any budget and only use the classroom."

She stopped her tracks and faced him, "Look, stop trying to get close to me. Just because I talk to you doesn't mean we're friends."

Kuro's stayed silent for a moment and watched the girl, "You should let loose a bit. It's not bad to have friends."

She turned her small back at him, "I don't need friends. And please stop talking to me, nothing good will come of it."

"Well, I wanna be friends whether you like it or not. Just so you know, I'm quite persistent." He smirked proudly.

Michiko exhaled, "Why?"

"Huh?"

"Why do you want to be friends?"

"Why not? You seem nice."

She shot him a look, "You've heard the rumours right? I'm-"

"I know. But rumours are just rumours, _I'll_ decide myself on how I think of you."

Her eyes widened slightly, "I just wanna be friends with you, is that really so bad?" He asked, this time, with a genuine smile.

"It's just that.." She looked down, clearly feeling uncomfortable.

Kuro rubbed the back of his neck, "I won't force you to be friends with me if you're so against it, but for today, let's eat together."

She met his eyes and surrendered, Kuro opened the door. Both of them froze when they saw a strange sight. A boy with a short-cut brown hair was on top of Bokuto and a small girl with pink hair was squatting down with a nosebleed and seemed like she was taking pictures of the two boys with her phone.

"Ah, wrong room, wrong room." Kuro closed the door again.

"Kuro! Come back! Help me!" Bokuto shouted.

"Amami, maybe I'll start eating with you."

"I understand."

"Oi!" The door banged open.

"Oh, you're the bento girl from that time." Bokuto pointed at her face, the other boy slapped his hand away, "Oi, that's rude."

"Amami Michiko." She corrected.

"Oh! Amami, I'm Bokuto from Class 1-1." He gave her a big grin.

"Nice to meet you, sorry for surprising you just now, Amami-san." The boy said.

"Yaku, you know her?" Bokuto asked.

"She's in my class." He replied, Michiko looked away.

"I don't think she knows you." Kuro smirked, to which Michiko responded by glaring at him.

"Sorry." She said.

"It's okay, I don't remember everyone in our class either." He assured.

She bowed her head, "I'm Yaku."

Michiko shifted her gaze to the girl, "Hello, I'm Nekota Ami. Nice to meet you, Amami-san."

Michiko then turned her vision to the side with a troubled look on her face. She was taken aback by how close the pink-haired girl she didn't know, was to her, invading her personal space much more than people normally would.

"Nekota, you're making her uncomfortable." Kuro told.

"Ah, sorry, Amami-san. It's just it's my first time seeing a _bishoujo_ up close." She grinned.

"It's okay." Michiko assured, Nekota started asking her about questions that the brunette didn't fully understand, which she tried to respond nonetheless.

"And so, Amami's gonna start eating lunch with us from now." Kuro announced.

"Oh!" Nekota eyes sparkled and the other two boys smiled.

"Eh? Eh!" She turned to Kuro with a mixture of surprise and annoyance while he smiled.

* * *

"Well, what do you think?" Kuro asked.

"They're nice people." She answered.

"Then let's-"

"Because they're nice people, I can't." She stopped her tracks, "And, why are you following me?"

"I'm not, my house is in this area too, remember?"

Michiko took a good look at him for a moment before walking ahead, entering a supermarket.

"You're following me." She shot him a look.

"I just thought you'd need help carrying groceries." He grinned innocently.

Michiko sighed, "Alright."

"Really?" He broke into a smile and followed her.

Michiko took two cartons of milk, body wash, fruits, sweet potatoes, rice, chicken, etc.

"You're really using me huh." He chuckled.

"You offered." She reminded.

"I know."

The two walked towards her home. They stopped in front an apartment building. They went up to the seventh floor and stopped in front of the door.

"Thanks." She said and took the plastic bags from him.

"You live alone?" He asked.

"Yeah."

"Where are your parents?"

"They had to move to Hokkaido for work."

"Oh, you didn't go with them?"

The bijin didn't respond.

It was clear from her expression that she didn't want to continue the conversation. So he spoke of other things.


	2. Chapter 2

A month passed easily. Because of Kuro's persistence, Michiko eventually gave up and ate with the Human Resources Club. She formed a good relationship with everyone in the club and started to talk more. She became especially close to Kuro who walks home together with her almost everyday and mostly hung out with him on days they were let off early from school.

"Who wants to do the relay?" The class representatives asked.

The students raised their hands to the two class representatives.

After spending twenty minutes of discussing and choosing the sports, Michiko was, placed in the cheering club.

"Amami-san, what costume do you want to wear?" The female class representative, Sonohara asked.

"Anything's fine."

"Cheerleader costume!" The boys shouted from afar.

"That's so cliche!" The girls giggled.

Ever since Michiko became "friends" with Kuro and the others, people started mustering up the courage to talk to her again. She was less cold and talked more as well. The rumours were starting to die down, much to some people's dismay.

After school, Michiko went to the club room to do some homework and study since the library was closed today. Inside, was Nekota, reading her manga alone. The boys apparently were helping out to volleyball team in their practice.

"Nekota-san, can I ask you something?" Michiko looked up from her notes and met eyes with the pink haired girl.

"Hm! What is it?" The otaku looked up from her manga.

"How did you get to know everyone?"

"Bokuto and the others?"

Michiko nodded, "I went to the same middle school as Bokuto, since I'm a huge otaku and fujoushi, I can't make any friends in class. So when I heard he was making a 'club' and needed another person, I volunteered. Sakuragaoka doesn't have any manga club so.." She chuckled sheepishly.

"I see."

"Why?"

"No, I was just wondering."

"I'm really glad Michiko-chan's here. Although they're really nice, having a girl friend is different." Nekota smiled.

"Friend..?"

"Ah- sorry if I got ahead of myself. I really do hope we can be friends, Michiko-chan." Nekota smiled nervously.

Michiko's eyes widened slightly, "Hm."

* * *

Kuro was walking down the street, making his way back home. He had to come home late because of class duties. On his way, he saw a familiar back from afar at the riverbank, sitting down on the field of grass.

"Oi Ama-" He stopped when he saw her eyes that shone with loneliness and sadness.

He walked towards the girl, she turned at the sound of footsteps. He sat down beside her, "Waiting for me?" He flashed her a small grin.

"Yeah right." She hugged her knees.

Kuro didn't ask her anything and she didn't say anything. The two sat beside each other, with him making small conversations.

It was indeed a breezy day.

But Michiko felt warmer than usual.

"Wanna eat dinner?"

"Isn't your family waiting for you?"

"Huh? No, I live alone too. I thought I told you." He said.

"Oh, no you didn't."

"My dad had to move to Yokohama for work, and my mom went with him. They're planning to sell the house sometime next year so I'm kinda looking for an apartment now." He explained.

"I see. That's why your bentos are always so simple."

Tetsurou sweat-dropped, "Yeah I guess."

She stood up, "I want katsudon."

"Sure, I know a good place." Kuro grinned.

The two arrived at a small restaurant, there were only several other people inside.

"Their katsudon is really good." He told.

They took a seat and ordered. Kuro stared at her, she tried to avert her eyes, feeling uncomfortable.

"What?"

"Nothing, it's just it's been awhile since I ate dinner with someone." He grinned.

"Same here." She said.

They spent a peaceful dinner together, with a comforting atmosphere from the restaurant which enveloped them.

️️️️

* * *

"What's this?" Michiko and Yaku stared at the paper Nekota was holding up.

"Manga Event! I was wondering if we can all go together?" Nekota's eyes sparkled with excitement.

"We don't know these stuff though." Yaku said.

"I know, that's not why I'm inviting you, actually..."

The other two boys entered the room, "Good timing!" Nekota pulled them both in and started explaining about the event.

"So in short, you want us to go to help you get all the mangas and doujinshis?" Kuro asked.

"Hm! I'd go by myself if I could but my grandma is visiting, my mom said I have to come home before five." Nekota told.

"So can you guys please help me? It'll be faster with everyone's help."

"Well, I'm free that day." Bokuto shrugged.

"Yeah, sure we'll help." Kuro and Yaku agreed.

Everyone turned to Michiko, she flinched slightly and nodded, "Okay."

"Yeay! Thank you so much, guys! I'll treat you guys next time!"

"Oh! Oh! Great!" Bokuto grinned widely.

And so, Saturday morning, exactly at 5 a.m. they all gathered in the train station.

"Aren't we too early?" Yaku asked as he shoved his hands into his jacket pockets. It was September and the weather was starting to get cold.

"No! We should arrive there by seven to make it!"

"What..?" Yaku sweat-dropped.

"Today, I will definitely get everything!" Nekota proclaimed, eyes burning with confidence.

"I respect your love for manga, I, Bokuto Koutarou will help you!" He smiled widely.

"Bokuto!" Her eyes sparkled.

"Where are they?" Yaku looked around.

"I can't wait to see Michiko-chan in her usual clothes! She's a _bijin_ after all! I wonder what's her style? Boyish? Lollita? Can't wait!" Nekota excitedly said.

Michiko and Kuro arrived, two out of three of them had the same expression when they saw the late ones. Kuro sighed and chuckled, "I had the same reaction."

Michiko's hair was tied up into a ponytail and slipped in her black cap, she was wearing a simple white t-shirt and black skinny jeans, with black shoes. She also threw a dark brown cardigan over her.

"Everyone's earlier than the agreed time." Michiko said.

"Yeah, we live close to this station." Yaku said.

"Michiko-chan..your clothes..lollita..dress.." Nekota crept over her with tears.

The brunette sweat-dropped at the reactions.

"Oi, what's wrong?" Bokuto asked the pink haired girl.

"I didn't expect this style either." Kuro spoke.

Michiko sighed, "We're going somewhere crowded. It'll be a hassle so I wore something that won't stand out."

"Ah- I see your point." Yaku and Kuro agreed as they imagined several scenarios of Michiko getting hit on, getting stalked etc.

"I don't see what the big fuss is about. I like her style." Bokuto straightforwardly, sincerely said.

Michiko's eyes widened slightly, "Thanks.." She looked away with a tint of pink shading her cheeks.

Kuro always found it amusing how the so-called _Yuki Onna_ is actually shy and gets embarrassed easily. You'd expect her to be used to compliments, but the brunette would turn pink at any compliment given to her aside from looks, be it actions, work or abilities.

He had found out facts about her that he didn't expect. For instance, Michiko was quite dense and tended to forget bringing things. She had a smartphone but isn't addicted to it like most teens nowadays. She loves bread and milk tea, she can't stand the smell of fish. And many more. Although she's always expressionless, Kuro could see from her eyes that she was just like any other girl, except that she must've experienced something that made her the way she is now.

The first train of the day arrived and they got on it, it was full, much to everyone's, excluding Nekota, surprise.

"What's up with all these people?!" Bokuto asked with a half shout half whisper.

"People who are going to the event!" Nekota proudly said.

"Wow. That's amazing." Yaku commented.

"Have you had breakfast?" Kuro asked Michiko.

"No, I can't eat in the morning."

"Oh."

They arrived at the venue, which was a huge exhibition centre. There were probably over thousands of people there and it was only six thirty. They started lining up.

"Woah, people stayed overnight for this?" Kuro sweat-dropped.

"Of course! Don't underestimate otakus!" Nekota declared.

"I'm not I'm not." Kuro raised his hands in defence and grinned.

"When does the event actually start?" Yaku asked.

Nekota's eyes darted away, "Eleven." She muttered in a small voice.

"What?!" The boys looked at her in shock.

They stood in line for the next four hours and when they got in the hall, they were already exhausted. Nekota gave them each a map and instructions on what to buy.

"Let's meet at the entrance in two hours!" Nekota said before sprinting in.

The other four split up and went to get the _mangas_ and _doujinshis_ Nekota listed. Michiko finished slightly before two hours and waited outside the entrance with several heavy paper bags.

 _*I'm hungry.*_ She looked around but there weren't any convenience store or even fast food restaurants.

She sighed and checked her phone, _*I don't have any of their numbers.*_ She realised.

A back bumped onto hers, "Sorry." Michiko turned.


	3. Chapter 3

"Where's Michiko-chan?" Nekota asked when she met up with the three boys.

"Maybe she's not done yet." Bokuto said.

"I don't think so, I gave her the least." Nekota told.

"Your least is still a lot though." Yaku told.

 _"Entrance South or North?"_

 _"North!" Several people spoke as they passed them._

Kuro bumped the bottom of fist into his palm, "I think I know."

* * *

"Can we take pictures with you?"

"Are you a mangaka?"

"You're very very cute."

Michiko uncomfortably backed from the three boys.

"I'm waiting for some people, please leave me alone." Michiko said.

"Tsundere?" One of them turned to his friend with a blush and a creepy looking smile.

"Totally."

"A picture won't hurt." They started bugging her and at one point, one of them held her hand.

"Come on, _bijin_ -san!"

In a moment, a tall figure appeared and got in between them, breaking the hold of Michiko's hand, "Oi. What business do you have with her?" Kuro looked down at the three _otaku_ s with a smirk but his eyes were cold and almost threatening.

"N-Nothing." They scurried away in fear.

Michiko's eyes widened and she looked up to the male, "Kuro.."

He sighed and faced her, "We're at the South Entrance, we came in from there. Why did you wait at North?"

"There are two entrances?" She blinked several times.

"Never mind that, be more-" He halted after seeing her attire, "I guess you're careful enough." He said.

"You okay? What did they try to do?" Kuro started questioning her.

Michiko nodded, "Just wanted to take pictures with me."

"Next time, just call me or any of the others. Don't be alone."

"I don't have anyone's number."

He held out his phone, "Give me yours."

She looked surprised but accepted the phone. Michiko punched in her number and handed it back to him. He called her phone then looked at her.

"There, you have my number."

She stared at her white smartphone and nodded.

"Let's go, the others are waiting." He flashed her a grin and carried her bags that were filled with _manga_ s, heading back to the others.

"Amami! Kuro!" Bokuto waved from afar.

"Man, why were you at the North entrance?" Yaku sighed.

"Sorry." Michiko apologised.

"Guys, she doesn't have your contacts." Kuro told, Michiko turned to him in surprise.

"You don't-"

"Oh yeah, give me your number!" Bokuto said and held out his phone. The others did the same.

"Thank you, everyone!" Nekota's eyes sparkled at the amount of work she managed to get.

It was two o'clock and they made their way to the train station to go home.

"Oh yeah." Yaku took out a small carton of milk out of his sling bag, "You haven't eaten anything, right? It'll fill you up for now." He said and handed it to her.

She accepted it with eyes shining in gratitude, "Thank you."

Because of the number of people getting on the train, it took them almost two hours until they finally arrived at Nekota's home.

"Thank you so much again, everyone!" Nekota said before going to her house with all the books she got.

Since it was three thirty, they decided to go have a late lunch, considering they hadn't eaten. And they were very tired.

"Ramen!" Bokuto's eyes sparkled.

Michiko turned to the boy beside her, "You like ramen?"

"Yeah! Not as much as yakiniku but I love ramen too." He grinned widely.

They ordered and waited for their food. Michiko took off her cap and fixed her hair.

"That must've made you tired."

"Now that I can see you clearly, you look exhausted." Kuro pointed out.

"Yeah." She agreed.

After lunch, Yaku and Bokuto went on their ways towards home and Michiko went home along with Kuro.

"How was today?" He asked.

"Tiring." She said.

He grinned, "But..?"

She exhaled, "But it wasn't bad."

"Next time, let's go hang out again then. Even if they can't, I'm free most of the time you know." He announced.

"That's not something you should be proud of." She sweat-dropped.

He laughed.

* * *

️️️️

The continuous ringing of the doorbell made Michiko get out of her comfy bed. She wasn't expecting anyone, scratch that, she never expects anyone. The brunette opened the door and saw a familiar face.

"Yaho."

She sighed, "What is it?"

"I was wondering if you wanna go to the festival, the one at Mikage Shrine."

"That's tonight, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"Don't you have to ask someone a few days before? What if I have plans?"

"You don't." He grinned.

"I could have plans." She defended.

"Well?"

Michiko sighed, "Sure, but- couldn't you just have called?"

"You'll flatly say no if I did." to which she acknowledged.

She glanced at the clock, "Want to come in?"

He blinked several times, surprised, "It's only a few more hours until the festival, you can wait here if you want."

"You shouldn't invite guys to your place when you live alone." He told.

"Huh? But it's you."

Kuro rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. Suddenly, he barged into the flat and trapped her against the wall. The tall male placed a hand beside her head as he leaned in.

"I'm a guy, you know." He seriously said.

Her eyes were wide in surprise. Suddenly, her heart started beating fast, probably because of his sudden action and their small distance to each other.

"But..I know you won't do anything bad." She stated.

"How? I'm a guy too you know, I also think you're really cute, I might wanna do stuff to you." He looked into her blue orbs, leaning even closer.

Michiko's cheeks turned pink and for a second, her orbs had a glint of fear.

With an innocent and soft voice, she asked, "You..do?"

Kuro retrieved his hand and backed away, he squatted down and covered his face with his palm.

"Kuro?"

"Sorry, Amami. Just wanted to tell you to be careful. I didn't mean that, I won't do anything." He uttered out through his blushing face.

"Hm. It's fine."

 _*You're so unfair, Amami.*_ He mentally grunted.

* * *

"What?" Michiko raised a brow.

"You're wearing a dress."

"Hm."

"Why? I mean it looks great on you! But I thought you don't want to stand out."

"Ah..I'll change." She looked down. A look of disappointment crossed her face, his eyes widened slightly.

Michiko was surprisingly very feminine. Most of her things were girly and he could tell she really wanted to wear the white sundress.

Kuro stopped her by the wrist, "Keep it on."

"Huh?" She looked up.

"Whatever you like, wear it."

"But-"

"You can. I'll make sure no one harasses you. I mean, we go out together a lot right?" He rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment at the statement he just made.

Michiko didn't answer and they made their way to the shrine.

"Woah, it's crowded!"

Michiko looked around with excitement glistening in her eyes. Kuro watched her in amusement, she never showed any expression but it was always obvious from her eyes. They looked around the different stalls. The festival's main event, which was the traditional dance will be starting at eight, which was two hours from now.

"What do you wanna do first?" He asked.

"Eat."

"As expected-" He chuckled, "what do you want?"

"Takoyaki and ringo ame." She said.

"Alright, I'll order the takoyaki, you go get the ringo ame. Wait here when you're done." He told, they were near the benches.

She nodded and went to the stall to order, "Two please."

Michiko felt eyes staring at her and turned to the person beside her. A blonde was staring intently at her. She sweat-dropped and looked away. Just when she was about to leave, the girl spoke,

"Don't get ahead yourself." and with that, the blonde left.

Michiko's eyebrows furrowed, wondering what that was about. She shrugged it off and went to purchase some taiyaki before going to the bench to secure a spot for her and Kuro.

"Oi, did you see that girl there?"

"Yeah, super cute!"

"Let's ask her out."

"She might have a date though."

"Who cares? There're four of us and she's alone, we can make her come with us."

Kuro overheard the conversation and hurried to where he told her to wait.

"Amami, you okay?!" Kuro said while panting.

She looked up and had a surprised look on her face.

Then, the unexpected happened, Michiko burst into laughter.

Kuro's lips parted and his eyelids widened.

"I should be asking you that, look at yourself." She covered her mouth as she giggled.

"Oh man!" He placed down the plastic bags of food he got on the bench and pulled his t-shirt away to prevent it from sticking to his skin.

"I must've bumped into someone."

She stood up and took out tissues from her shoulder bag and wiped the colourful stains on Kuro's light blue t-shirt.

"Watch where you're going next time." She flashed him a small smile and gently dabbed the wet areas on his t-shirt.

Kuro felt his ears getting hot and his heart beating faster than regular, "Thanks."

She sent him a questioning look at his pink cheeks but dismissed it, thinking it was from him running.

From afar, Kuro could see the guys he saw before watching them in disappointment. He sighed in relief. Good thing he came as soon as possible, she was okay. And he even got to see her smile and laugh. A ruined shirt meant nothing in comparison.

After they ate, they watched the dance performance and played some games before they go home.

"Thanks for taking me." She spoke.

"No prob. Liked it?"

"Hm. The food was good, the dance was pretty, the games were fun. And.."

"And?" He raised a brow.

"Let's go out again sometimes."

Her words took him unexpectedly. He felt an indescribable warmth in his chest, then flashed her a grin.

"Anytime."


	4. Chapter 4

Michiko sighed and rested her head on her table, tired of doing the difficult math questions she hated.

"Wanna do it together?"

The brunette looked up and saw Yaku standing in front of her table, holding his book and pencil case.

"Sure."

The teacher was absent today and they were given questions to do to fill the class' time.

"I thought you'd be good at math." He honestly said.

Michiko pursed her lips in annoyance, "Not this chapter."

Yaku chuckled and they started doing the questions together.

The brown-haired boy's ears perked up at the comments of her fellow classmates.

 _"Amami's got a new guy? What a slut."_

 _"Woah, she's annoying."_

Yaku gritted his teeth and eyed the girls in annoyance, the girls continued to bad-mouth Michiko. He was about to tell them off when he saw Michiko's expression who was unfazed by the comments and was busy trying to solve the problem.

"Did you get this?" She asked.

Yaku was surprised at how the girl ignored the horrible comments. How could she not react? Why wasn't she mad, sad, or showed even a trace of emotion?

 _*Amami..*_ He clenched his fists.

* * *

When the bell rang, the students exited the class to go to the Science Laboratory.

"Amami, you okay?" Yaku stopped her.

Michiko turned, "Why?"

"They were- sorry, it's because I suddenly came to you." He rubbed his neck.

"I'm fine, I'm used to it. You didn't do anything wrong." Michiko stated before continuing her way to the lab.

At that moment, Yaku realised,

 **of course.**

This wasn't the first time Michiko heard those terrible words thrown at her. Even before they became friends, there were rumours flying around about her, and none of them was good.

It has probably happened more than he can count. Probably, ever since she was little.

Yaku watched the figure of the brunette from behind,

the back of someone who had received so many cruel words for just existing.

 **It irritated him.**

No one should get used to the feeling of hurt.

But the fact that he couldn't do anything about it, frustrated him more.

And as he racked his brain upside down to find words that could comfort her, he could see the how cold Michiko looked from a distance.

️️️️

* * *

Yaku sighed, _*What can I do for her? What can I say to her?*_

Though a week has passed, those thoughts still lingered in his mind, as if someone glued them to the inner core of his mind.

"Oi, you've been sighing more than a hundred now." He turned to the black haired male.

"My bad."

"What's up?"

He looked at Kuro for a moment, "Kuro, you're close with Amami, right?"

"Huh? I guess. I don't know if she'd say the same though, why?"

Yaku told him about his concern and it didn't take long for Kuro to provide him with an answer.

"Huh? What do you mean do nothing?"

"I was the same as you. I thought and thought and thought, but then I realised that I've forgotten something important. Take a guess what."

Taku thought for a while, "Sorry, I can't think of anything but you forgetting to brush your hair."

An irk mark popped out on Kuro's temple, "Not the time."

"My bad my bad." Yaku chuckled.

"What she really needs," Kuro told.

"What I can do for her doesn't mean anything if she doesn't need it."

Yaku's eyelids widened slightly, "I think treating her normally like friends instead of pitying her and trying to defend her, is something she needs more."

"I see."

"But you don't have to hold back if you wanna tell them off. I'm sure Amami would feel touched that you defended her anyway." Kuro shrugged.

"Yeah, thanks, Kuro."

️️️️

* * *

After much preparations, the day of the school festival finally arrived.

Michiko and Yaku's class made a haunted house. The brunette was dressed as a Japanese spirit and looked quite scary because of the makeup.

"You can make a kid cry." Kuro commented with a teasing grin."

"I can make you cry."

He laughed, "When does your shift end?"

"Three."

"I'm done at two-thirty, let's meet up then. I'll-"

"Kuro!"

The two turned at the blonde who came to them and pulled Kuro's arm, "We're opening, let's go!" She sent Michiko a small glare before facing the boy with a smile.

 _*She seems familiar.*_ Michiko thought.

"Oh, yeah. See you later." He grinned at Michiko before leaving with the blonde.

"Let me go already." He told her.

She giggled sheepishly, "Sorry."

 _*Ah- she's the one from the festival.*_

For some reason, Michiko felt annoyed at the sight of another girl latching to Kuro's side.

 _Was it because she had been close to Kuro and thinks him as a close friend now?_

 _Was she scared that he might stop being friends with her because of that girl?_

 _Why was she so annoyed at the girl and at Kuro who did nothing wrong?_

''Michiko-chan!" The girl turned at the call and saw a pink haired girl dressed as a maid.

"I'm on my break and I came to visit." Nekota said.

"Sorry, the haunted house is on a break."

"Ah I know, I came to see you!" She beamed and held out the bottle of juice she bought for her friend.

"Thanks." Michiko accepted it.

The two sat down in a secluded area of the school.

"You look a bit down, Michiko-chan. Is something wrong?" Nekota asked.

"I'm not." Michiko plucked the straw into the drink and sipped it.

Nekota blinked several times, "You can tell me if you want, maybe I can help!"

"It's fine."

"Oya, what are you two doing here?" They looked up and saw Bokuto with a box with him.

"Taking a break~" Nekota grinned and waved her juice box at the male.

"Oh! I wanna rest too." He sat down on the empty spot on the ground beside Michiko.

"You shouldn't slack off, Bokuto." Nekota said.

"I'm not! I'm resting!" He defended.

"What's that?" Michiko peered over to look inside the box.

"Speakers and stuff, they told me to put it back in the storage room."

"Oh look, Kuro's there." Nekota pointed at the tall figure who was on the other side across them.

"Kuro!" Bokuto shouted to greet him but the boy didn't seem to hear it.

Nekota took notice of the blonde who was walking beside him.

"I didn't know they were close." Nekota said.

"Me neither." Michiko looked away.

A lightbulb lit up in Nekota's brain and she giggled, "Michiko-chan, are you jealous?"

"Hey, she's gonna be mad if you say that." Bokuto warned.

The brunette's eyes widened and she turned to the otaku in surprise.

"Michiko-chan?" Nekota called out to her after a moment of silence.

"I see. This is jealousy." Michiko held her juice box tightly with a shade of pink dusting her cheeks.

The two were surprised at the girl's reaction.

 _*She's so honest!*_ They both turned pink, embarrassed.

They looked at each other and nodded, _*We're on your side, Amami/Michiko-chan!*_

"Let's look around the festival together later!" Bokuto told as they made their way back to their respective classes.

"See ya later!" Bokuto grinned before making his leave.

* * *

"Amami-san, your shift is over, leave the rest to me." Her fellow classmate told. Michiko nodded and went to change her clothes and take off the horrid makeup.

As she was erasing the colours off her face, she stared at her reflection. Her head was so full of thoughts, she wouldn't be surprised if it exploded right there and then. But because it was so full, it almost felt like it was empty.

 ** _-The previous hour-_**

The _bijin_ was doing her job as the ghosts, scaring the customers that entered. She shocked a cute blonde who dropped to the floor, the two realised who the other was. The blonde stood up and faced Michiko with a firm expression.

"Amami, right? I'm Kushida."

"Yeah."

"Sakuragaoka's very own _Yuki Onna_ , a real-life _bijin_ that every guy likes."

Michiko pressed her lips into a thin line, "What is it?"

The girl looked at her coldly, "Kuro's nice, he'd befriend anyone who looks lonely. You might feel that he's treating you special, but he's not." Kushida told.

The brunette looked at her strangely, "I don't think that."

"Did you know Kuro's getting bad-mouthed because of you? Be it by girls, guys, though I'm sure he didn't tell anyone about it. The others too, Bokuto and the other two. You don't have to believe me if you don't want to, hear it for yourself."

Michiko clenched her fists and looked down, "How awful, _Yuki Onna_ really does bring misfortune." Kushida looked down at the girl.

"I like Kuro, a lot, ever since middle school. And I don't want Kuro to suffer because of his kindness to you-" Kushida said truthfully, "of course I don't like you hanging around with him either. I don't care about the rest, but at least,"

"stop talking to Kuro." The blonde spoke in all seriousness.

* * *

"Hey." The brunette turned.

"I've been waiting, let's go." Kuro grinned.

She looked at the tall male for a moment, _*I'm sorry.*_

Michiko had come to a decision.

Life had been too kind to her lately, having people who accepted her and treated her kindly despite how she was. But deep down, she knew this would eventually come, the day that this dream would end.

 _*I'm such an idiot.*_


End file.
